Spanish
Hurricane Imelda approaches Bermuda this Wednesday, while Humberto, which dropped to category 1, continues to affect the east coast of the United States with strong waves and rip currents, reported the National Hurricane Center (NHC) of the United States.
The passage of both systems keeps the swell and rip currents dangerous along the beaches of the western Atlantic, including the Bahamas, the northern Caribbean, Bermuda, and much of the eastern coast of the United States.
These conditions will persist for several days, according to the latest NHC bulletin.
In Cuba, Imelda caused the death of two people, while in the United States, in North Carolina, five unoccupied houses collapsed on Tuesday and fell into the ocean in the community of Buxton, part of the group of islands known as the Outer Banks, due to the intense swells caused by both hurricanes.
The NHC detailed this Wednesday that Imelda was located about 640 kilometers (395 miles) west-southwest of Bermuda and was moving east-northeast at 33 kilometers per hour (21 miles).
Maximum sustained winds reached 150 kilometers per hour (90 miles), with stronger gusts.
According to the NHC, the cyclone could strengthen to near Category 2 before passing near Bermuda tonight.
The authorities issued a hurricane warning for this archipelago, where tropical storm conditions are expected from the afternoon and hurricane-force winds towards the night.
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Meteorological authorities warned that the storm surge could cause coastal flooding in areas with offshore winds, accompanied by large and destructive waves. The rainfall associated with Imelda could accumulate between 50 and 100 millimeters (2 to 4 inches), with a risk of flash flooding on the island. In parallel, Hurricane Humberto continues its displacement in the North Atlantic and was this morning about 450 kilometers (280 miles) north-northwest of Bermuda, with sustained winds of 130 kilometers per hour (80 miles). The NHC predicts that Humberto will lose some strength and merge tonight with a cold front, although it will continue to generate strong waves. So far, there have been nine cyclones this year in the Atlantic: hurricanes Erin, Gabrielle, Humberto, and Imelda, and storms Andrea, Barry, Chantal, Dexter, and Fernand, of which Chantal has been the only one to make landfall this year in the United States, where it caused two deaths in July in North Carolina. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted an "above-normal" hurricane season, estimating between 13 and 18 tropical storms, of which between five and nine could become hurricanes.
